:''There are multiple individuals named

Abdul Ghaffar ʻAbd al-Ghaffār (ALA-LC romanization of ) is a male Muslim given name, and, in modern usage, surname, built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and '' al-Ghaffār'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the Muslim theophoric nam ...

.''

Maulvi Mawlawi (), is an Islamic religious title given to Muslim religious scholars, or ulama, preceding their names, similar to the titles Mawlānā, Mullah, or Sheikh. Mawlawi generally means a highly qualified Islamic scholar, usually one who has ...

Abdul Ghaffar (1969 – September 25, 2004) was an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

who was held by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the

Guantanamo Bay detainment camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

s, in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

.Gitmo Detainees Return To Terror
''

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

'', October 17, 2004 His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 363. Born in 1969 in Karabagh, Ghazni Province, Shai Jahn Ghafoor was a citizen of Afghanistan. On September 9, 2001, he worked as a farmer and clay laborer in Karabakh village,

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

Province, when he was forced by the Taliban to work as a supply driver in

Taloqan Taloqan (, also transcribed Taleqan or Taluqan) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006. In 2021, the Taliban gained control of ...

to transport food supplies to frontlines in Takhar province. After the Fall of Kunduz in November 2001, he was arrested on November 26, 2001, and transported from Yarganak Pass through Mazar-i-Sharif to a prison in

Sheberghan Sheberghān or Shaburghān or shāhpurgān ( Uzbek, Pashto, ), also spelled ''Shebirghan'' and ''Shibarghan'', is the capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan. The city of Sheberghan has a population of 175,599. It has four ...

, Jowzjan. He spent nine months of detention in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. He was released and repatriated to Afghanistan on March 23, 2003. Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar has been cited as an example of a Guantanamo detainee who tricked their way out of imprisonment, so they could "return to the battlefield."

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

cited Ghaffar as a justification for continuing to detain suspects at Guantanamo.Cheney defends Guantanamo as essential to war: VP says that if freed, prisoners would return to battlefield
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', June 14, 2005 Ghaffar was captured about two months after the US

Invasion of Afghanistan Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States declared the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational military operation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had exe ...

, and according to various accounts, he was only held by the Americans for eight months.Released Detainees Join Fight
, ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...

'', October 22, 2004 After his release, Ghaffar served as a leader within the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

. Ghaffar was killed along with two of his men in a gun battle during a raid on the night of September 25, 2004, in the village of Pishi,

Uruzgan Uruzgan (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot ...

province. Ghaffar was believed to have been the Taliban commander for Uruzgan and Helmand provinces.

References

External links

WikiLeaks: The Unknown Prisoners of Guantánamo (Part Three of Five)
Andy Worthington
Pol: Too Many Inmates Freed

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, June 21, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghafour, Shai Jahn 2004 deaths Guantanamo detainees known to have been released 1969 births Afghan extrajudicial prisoners of the United States